Samsung Heavy Industries said on the 27th that, in collaboration with Korea Line Corporation, it has for the first time installed the Korea-style cargo containment system KC-2C on a commercial liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier.
The LNG carrier has a capacity of 7,500 ㎥, was delivered this month, and smoothly completed its maiden LNG transport voyage from Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang, to the Aewol LNG terminal in Jeju. The company said, "It has opened the era of the Korea-style LNG cargo containment system, a long-held wish of the domestic shipbuilding industry."
KC-2C is a Korea-style cargo containment system developed by Samsung Heavy Industries to achieve technological self-reliance in LNG cargo tanks that had depended on foreign countries. Compared with existing tanks, it improves the design and construction method of the secondary barrier, offering airtightness, stability, and excellent insulation performance.
In Oct. last year, Samsung Heavy Industries mounted KC-2C on the multipurpose LNG bunkering barge Green Nuri, which it has been using through its own investment, and carried out demonstrations in parallel at the Geoje shipyard, including offshore LNG bunkering, cooling tests, and gas commissioning. For the membrane welding work of KC-2C, it deployed a self-developed Laser High-Speed Welding Robot, significantly improving production efficiency.
An official at Samsung Heavy Industries said, "We have made meaningful progress in the LNG carrier sector, where Korea holds the No. 1 share of the global market. We will work to ensure that the KC-2C cargo containment system is evaluated by the market through retrofit and newbuilds of 174,000 ㎥ LNG carriers."